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The Thousand Years' War
The Thousand Year's War ''or ''The Century War ''was not one, but several interconnected military conflicts fought between various parties for control of the Dovanian continent. The most prominent opponents featured the Nulians against the Arostrians, although there was often infighting in the two groups and Bergan states were also involved on both sides. Prelude Nulian Dovania Prior to the 8th century BF, Dovania consisted almost exclusively of Nulian tribes, clans and nations. From northern Freyl to southern Bergania, the Nulian nations thrived and prospered, although wars between them were frequent. The fertile lands of what is today known as Bergania were especially coveted by the various clans of the south, and thus it was one of the most populated regions in Dovania. Great Southern War In February of 784 BF, suddenly and without warning, a huge fleet landed at the enrtance of the river XXX, and its army quickly advanced up the banks of the river. The Nulians called these invaders ''Waqaia, but to themselves and the arostrians they're known as the Bergans. The exact reason for the Bergan invasion have largely been lost through time, but it was not to extend any empire, it was likeliest to find a new homeland or the Bergans. What exactly happened to the original Bergan homeland has never been discovered, although it is likely that they were overrun by the Agarro Kingdom. This Bergan invasion marked the beginning of the Great Southern War, where the Bergans would conquer the lands that they would rename after themselves, Bergania. This war marked the first time that many Nulian nations united against a common foe, and even though they had inferior copper weapons against the Bergans' iron, the Nulians real weapon were their sheer numbers. It has been estimated that the Nulians in the war may have outnumbered their attackers by more than 20 to 1. Arostrian Involvement The two sides had fought each other for 20 years when the Bergans' manpower began to dry up. In an act of desperation, the Bergans turned to the Arostrians of Minea for help, a nation renowned for its mercenaries. The Bergans had no gold or money to give the Arostrians, but a Bergan general suggested that they would instead give them the most valuable thing, land. It was something that was quite desirable to the Arostrians as their island nation was nearly overpopulated. A treaty was made with King Walter III of Minea and plans were drawn out that the Arostrians would receive a large chunk of land, later named the ''Compact Lands, ''located in south-eastern Dovania. It is unknown how many Arostrian mercenaries bolstered the ranks of the Bergan army, but they quickly turned the tide of the war, retaking the entire Berganian peninsula from the Nulians. But after a defeat at the battle of Leimwood, the Bergans were ready to make peace with the Nulians. The top Bergan generals signed a treaty with the King of Yautis, the predominant Nulian ruler of the south, where they agreed upon the boundaries of Bergan lands. The Bergans would found the city of Parsis at the boundraries of the Bergan peninsula, and would not expand beyond that point. This left all parties satisfied, but with the big exception of the Arostrians who were denied their compact lands even though they had already established several colonies there. As a response to this betrayal, the Arostrian mercenaries rebelled against the Bergan army and slaughtered many of their generals, leaving Bergania fractured politically. The Arostrians then formed their own army and marched towards the compact lands. Walter III, the king of Minea also sent his entire fleet to support and found more colonies. Many Nulians who already occupied the land put up a tough resistance against the invaders, but were soon slaughtered by the thousands of Arostrians arriving in their lands. They were the first casualties of the Thousand Years' War. War for the Compact Lands (757-748 BF) It was clear that the Arostrians were very intent on settling the lands that were promised to them for so many years by the Bergans. So many Arostrians fought and died by those promises, and when the Bergans betrayed their word, it seems that the Arostrians were even more determined to their cause. Initial settlement The first recorded Arostrian colony in Dovania is Camalia, located on the Raynonna peninsula. It is the only known Arostrian settlement to have been settled before the Great Southern War. Although it was razed by Nulians in 763 BF, many more settlements had followed by that point, such as Koliaber, the predecessor town for Seria. This gave the Arostrians an already established foothold when the Thousand Year War actually started. Seizing the region The Arostrian mercenary army seized much of the coast of the Compact lands without difficulty in some 2 months, paving the way for Royal troops from Minea to arrive. But some of the mercenaries resented with this. They despised King Walter and wanted to form their own independent kingdoms away from him. This was the cause for the first Arostrian split, when a part of the mercenary army marched north to form their own states. One of the new states formed was the Republic of Seria, a haven for dissenters against the king. But the split was only a minor setback for Walter. By 752 BF, his forces had secured the entire extent of the original plan for the compact lands, wich encompassed the south-eastern tip of Dovania. But while Walter consolidated his new holdings and settled more regions, he ordered his army to march north to conquer the independent Arostrian states. This proved to be the fatal mistake of Walter's reign, as the independents resisted his army harshly. Although he almost managed to conquer all of them until they united under the Serian Republic. By 750 BF, Seria was the sole surviving independent state, but by then the Arostrian army was too strained to fully conquer it. When King Walter suddenly died from a heart attack in 749 BF, the invasion was called back altogether. News of these developments quickly spread through the Nulian world, and especially the court of King Fanna of Yautis. Fanna had already been planning an invasion to expel the Arostrians from Dovania, and this was a window of opportunity. Yautisi invasion of the Compact lands Fanna had been a soldier in the Great Southern War and fought against the Arostrians personally. He knew they had superior discipline and weapons and had excellent cavalry. When he was elected king of Yautis in 755 BF, he immediately set out on making a professional army with iron weapons and armored cavalry. When Walter died in 749 BF, Fanna's army was not quite complete, but this was a chance like no other. The Arostrians were fighting each other, with strained manpower, low morale and uncertain leadership, they were at their most vulnerable. Fanna invaded Arostrian lands in 749 BF from the north and easily crushed the Royal army. He advanced past Seria, neglecting it as unnoteworthy, and into the core of the Arostrian lands. It was here that he met stiff resistance from newly raised Arostrian armies and reinforcements from Minea, bogging down his campaign greatly. It also appears that his new army wasn't as professional as he wanted, because parts of it broke up into various raiding parties after it defeated all the Arostrian armies. Hundreds of newly built villages were looted and burned as the raiders advanced in all directions. Fanna still lead the bulk of the army himself further south to destroy the ports connecting Minea to the Dovanian mainland. But before he could, his army hit a most interesting bump. In 748 BF, a Nulian raiding party arrived to raid the village by the name of Ecbatana in the south. The party was some 15 men strong, but not one of them returned from the tiny village. Another party later arrived later, this time with twice as many numbers, but only 5 of them returned to Fanna with the strangest of news. The village had apparently been defended by one Arostrian single handedly, a man the Nulians described as possessed. Fanna was intrigued but quickly disregarded the man, perhaps admiring his bravery. The man was called Evan, a name that neither the Arostrians or Nulians will ever forget. Turning the tide Somehow, news of Evan's stand against the raiders reached the ears of General Gerald Mapiers, a commander of one of the remnants of the Minean army. He marched to Ecbatana and met there Evan, an 18 year old who had an extreme skill for killing Nulians and for defending his home village. Mapiers attempted to recruit him and wanted to make him his personal squire and bodyguard. Evan was very reluctant to leave his home undefended, but Mapiers managed to convince him that they would fight to end the war and secure safety for his home permenantly. Evan agreed, and was made one of Mapiers' personal bodyguards and squire. Mapiers' army marched east, defeating several Nulian raiding parties and defending as many villages. Evan's skills with a blade impressed many, and Mapiers' numbers swelled from less than 500 to more than 2000. Of course this did not go unnoticed by Fanna, who marched his army against Mapiers and Evan. His army is estimated to have been at least three times the size of Mapiers' army. The details of the following battle between Fanna and Mapiers has been lost, but a few things are certain. Mapiers took a good defensive position while Fanna charged him, and Mapiers was soon killed in the ensuing clashes. What follows after that is even more unclear, but it appears that Evan took charge and bolstered the men's morale, leading them to repel the Nulian's attack. In the middle of all the confusion, Evan and Fanna met face to face and charged at each other. Much of the army watched as the two equally matched men fought for the very future of their people. But in the end, Evan got the better of Fanna, who was struck down for all his men to see. The entire Nulian army went into disarray, with Evan and the Arostrians pursuing relentlessly. After this, most of the Nulian raiding parties retreated back beyond Yautis' borders where they had to be present to elect a new King. Ebrana leads the Arostrians (748 BF Evan's Policies After the defeat of Yautis, many of the Arostrians worshipped Evan, named "the great", as the man who saved their race. Evan was hereafter the de facto leader of the Arostrians, and his opinions would shape the policies of the Arostrian states for many years to come (and even to this day). He denounced the king of Minea, severing the last bit of authority that the Kingdom of Minea had to the mainland. He also reviled all gods and religions, the reasons for this are unknown but it caused an irreligious sentiment in all of the Arostrian states and an intolerance towards faith. It is unlikely however that this happened overnight, and was probably only complete with the irreligious policies of the Erinian Empire. New kingdom After defeating Yautis, Evan wished to return home to his home village and rebuild it. But whether he wished for it or not, he was now considered the leader of the Arostrians, and where he would go, they would go. Many would follow him because they revered him, others because they had nowhere else to go after losing everything in the war. Ecbatana was soon converted from a small village to a bustling city with Evan as its ruler. The city was then made the capital of a new independent kingdom, with Evan as its first King. By 740 BF, Ecbatana was the political and cultural center of the Compact Lands, although not far behind Seria. The republican city state had also prospered in the years after the Yautisi defeat. The two new states flourished for a while, building strong armies to repel any further Nulian raids. Meanwhile in Yautis, a new king was elected named Avlar, a far more temperate ruler than his predecessor. He opted to esablish more peaceful relations with the Arostrian states. Many have speculated that this may have been due to the Yautisi army being in tatters, and Avlar feared that an Arostrian attack could have destroyed his kingdom. This loose peace between Seria, Yautis and Ecbatana lasted for whole 21 years, during which time the Arostrian population of the compact lands would have at least tripled in size, making them roughly the same population as Yautis. But Yautis was but one of the many Nulian kingdoms and tribes, so overall the nulians would have still outnumbered the arostrians roughly 50 to 1. John Evangen In 733 BF, Evan the Great died of the Minodic Plague and was succeeded by his second son, John. He founded the new dynasty of Evangen, named after his father. By the time he came to power Ecbatana had become a conciderable power and a bustling town, and was capable of fielding a large army. John chose to repair his city's broken ties with Seria and Minea, wishing for a grand Arostrian alliance against the Nulians. His attempts were difficult at first, receiving skepticism from Seria and Minea alike, but in time an agreement was made. Seria agreed because she would benefit greatly from seizing more Nulian lands, and Minea because she wanted to repair ties with the Compact Lands since Evan the Great denounced them. The Arostrian Alliance was ratified in March 729 BF, causing great alarm in Yautis and most of the other Nulian states. Likewise in the Bergan states, concerns were voiced although no action was taken. Avlar, still the king of Yautis, pleaded for help from all the other Nulian kings, lords and chiefs against the dangerous Arostrian Alliance. Most ignored his pleas, too caught up in their own affairs, but not all. Many chiefs from the Great River Valley marched with their warriors to Yautis, bringing much needed reinforcements to the weak kingdom. Although Avlar had been wise to invest in the defense of his kingdom, building forts all across his kingdom and supplying them well. John began to plan for an Arostrian offensive as soon as the Alliance was founded, and Yautis was almost exclusively the candidate. In 728 BF, the armies of Seria and Ecbatana met at the village of Undort to coordinate their invasion. John proposed a plan to =